Grape Seed Extract or Allergy Shots?
Ask anyone if they have allergies and the answer is usually yes. Allergies are the body’s inflammation response to environmental triggers – dust, pollen, and the like. Food allergies are common too, but outside the scope of this post.
Most doctors recommend allergy shots as a way to help manage the body’s response to these triggers. Allergy shots are supposed to help your body build up immunity to the allergens, the things that trigger an allergic reaction. However, they don’t cure allergies.
A family site on allergies explained the process best:
The shots contain a purified form of the allergens that are causing problems – things like pet dander, dust, pollen – not foods or latex allergies. The course of shots is usually given over a 5-year period. The dosage of the allergen is gradually increased over the first 4 to 5 months to a monthly maintenance dose, which is usually given for up to 3 years. After 5 years of getting allergy shots, a patient may no longer seem to be allergic.
May NO longer SEEM to be allergic. That’s not the only concern. Injecting the body with the allergens also increases the chance of an allergic reaction to the shot.
WebMD states:
You may want to avoid exercise or doing anything strenuous for two hours before and after your appointment. That’s because exercise may increase blood flow to the tissues and cause the allergens to get into your blood faster.
Getting something into your blood stream faster, which you’re hoping is going to help you is a bad thing? Yes.
From the Mayo Clinic:
Most people don’t have much trouble with allergy shots. But they contain the substances that cause your allergies — so reactions are possible, and can include:
- Local reactions, which can involve redness, swelling or irritation at the injection site. These common reactions typically begin within a few hours of the injection and clear up soon after.
- Systemic reactions, which are less common — but potentially more serious. You may develop sneezing, nasal congestion or hives. More-severe reactions may include throat swelling, wheezing or chest tightness.
- Anaphylaxis is a rare life-threatening reaction to allergy shots. It can cause low blood pressure and trouble breathing. Anaphylaxis often begins within 30 minutes of the injection, but sometimes starts later than that.
We recently had a friend who went in for his regular allergy shot and 30 minutes later drove off the side of the road because he had a reaction to the shot and blacked out. Thankfully, he was ok, and he hadn’t injured anyone else in the process either.
So, we get injected with the allergens, potentially have a reaction and end up in the ER, and yet after five years of this, they may only seem to help manage allergies…
I, myself, had allergy shots as a child and then proceeded to need a prescription antihistamine for years until trying out Grape Seed Extract. My allergies are not cured, but they are far more manageable then they’ve ever been. Rather than injecting myself and suffering through any potential reactions, I have better results in 20 minutes if I’ve taken Grape Seed Extract. I can breathe, be outside and have skipped suffering through bi-annual bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis.
Why grape seed extract? Grapes have been a part of traditional treatments in Europe for thousands of years. And no, we’re not talking about drinking wine, although many people do say a glass of red wine a day is beneficial. Grape seed extract is derived from the ground-up seeds of red wine grapes.
The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) has been researching the effect of grape seed extract. Their research indicates that standardized grape seed extracts may be useful for treating health problems related to free radical damage. Grape seeds contain potent antioxidants, which are substances that neutralize and eliminate harmful free radicals.
Vitamin E is an important antioxidant in grape seed, but even more powerful are the flavonoids called oligomeric proanthocyanidin complexes, or OPCs, according to the UMMC. Antioxidants destroy free radicals, which are waste products that develop from the conversion of food to energy and also occur in response to environmental toxins. Free radicals damage cells and genetic material and may contribute to aging and disease, including heart disease and cancer.
Its use in the United States is gaining in popularity now to help with:
- Cardiovascular conditions
- Poor circulation
- High cholesterol
- Reducing swelling caused by injury
- Eye disease related to diabetes.
And that’s just a few.
NCI is also funding studies to evaluate whether grape seed extract is effective in preventing breast cancer in postmenopausal women and prostate cancer. NCCAM is studying whether the action of grape seed extract and its components may benefit the heart or help prevent cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and other brain disorders. Another study is investigating the effects of grape seed extract on colon cancer.
Based on my results, and the results of many of my family members and coaching clients, I recommend they try out a quality grape seed extract and then decide about allergy shots. Check with your doctors, do your research and make an informed decision.
